Improvement in shipping-can shields



H. M. SMITH. fShipping Can-Shields. N0.]37,627, PatehtedAprl8,1873.

IINITED STATES PATENT Ormea.

HORATIO M. SMITH, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

. IMPROVEMENT IN SHIPPING-CAN SHIELDS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 137,62*?, dated April 8, 1873; application filed November 16, 1872.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HonATio M. SMITH, of Chicago, in the county of (look and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shipping- Gan Shields, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, which will enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a shipping-can provided with my improved shield, and Fig. 2 a vertical central longitudinal section of the. same.

My invention relates to that class of cans which are employed for the purpose of facilitating the operation of shipping or transporting various articles of commerce from one place to another. These cans are generally made of sheet metalfor the purpose of rendering them tight, durable, light, and cheap; but when made of light thin metaltin, for example-they are easily bruised, and their usefulness is thus frequently impaired and destroyed.

I am aware that attempts have been made for the purpose of overcoming this objectionable feature by setting the can into a wooden receptacle constructed to receive it. This receptacle, when made sufficiently thin not to materially increase the bulk and weight of the can, is liable to warp and chink, and its usefulness and durability are thus impaired, unless its expense is increased by rendering it impervious to water and atmospheric influence.

'.L'he object of my invention is to obvate these defects, and it consists in providing the can with an outer shield, made of paper, pasteboard, or tar'board.

In the drawing, A represents a metallic shipping-can, and B an outer shield, consisting of paper, pasteboard, or tar-board, arranged on the can in the manner shown, and applied either in a continuous sheet, or in vertical ribs. In the drawing, the shield is represented as having a bottom, as shown at C; but the shield may be made either with or without a bottom, and when the bottom is employed it may be made either of the material of which the body of the shield is made, or of any other suitable material.

It will be observed that the shield B will protect the body of the can, and this part is most liable to injury, not only for the reason that its surface is largest, but because lateral compression and blows most frequently occur during transportation. The breast of thecan may also be protected in a similar manner by means of the same material.

Some of the advantages ot' a shield made of the material above set forth are, that it is less liable than wood to injury from warping and chinkng, and ordinary fastenings will more readily overcome this tendency. It is also light and, cheap, and need not be thicker than the common wooden shields, in order to protect the ca-n from ordinary accidents. Thick sheets of paper, when used for this purpose, may also be readily rendered pliable. I deem it preferable, for ordinary purposes, to make the ,shield about a quarter of an inch thick.

In do not here intend to limit myself to any i means employed for the purpose of construct` ing the shield and applying it to the can, ex-

cepting as relates to the material used,but some additional advantages in the employment of paper instead of wood will appear by setting forth some of the ways in which these purposes may be accomplished. For example, the paper need not be applied to the can in sheets of the thickness herein suggested, but either short or long sheets, coated with any suitable viscous substance, may be applied to the can until the shield is of a sufcient thickness, and instead of using sheets of the width of the shield, narrow stripsmay be applied by rotating the can, and by either carrying the strips from one end of the body to the other, or by Winding them thereon in ribs. By this means the paper is not only firmly and closely attached to the can, and rendered hard and rigid, but the cement employed for that purpose may also be such as to render the shield impervious to external moisture, and also to t oils and other uid contents of the |ca11,in case of leakage from the latter.

Having thus described my invention, whatI claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is y A shipping-can provided with an outer shield, consisting of paper, pasteboard0r tar-board, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

IIORATIO M. SMITH. Witnesses:

F. F. WARNER, N. C. Garnitur. 

